AI accusations mar UK election as candidate forced to defend authenticity: 'I am a real person'

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A candidate for the populist Reform UK Party in Britain had to defend himself after allegations that he was not an actual person but in reality an artificial intelligence (AI)-generated candidate put up for election last month.

"I am a real person and that is me in the photo," Mark Matlock confirmed to British news outlet The Independent. "Though I must admit I am enjoying the free publicity, and when I feel up to it, I will put out a video and prove these rumors that I’m a robot are absolute baloney."

"I just laughed when I saw it," he added. "I think it perked me up. I thought, ‘I need to get back out there.’ This is doing more good for me than my campaign, it’s fantastic."

Reform exceeded expectations in the most recent general election in the United Kingdom, taking 14% of the vote, which only translated to 1% of the seats in Commons – five seats overall – due to the "first past the post" system.

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The party’s success was enough to deeply impact the ruling Conservative Party’s candidates, splitting the vote in the lowest voter turnout for almost a century, resulting in a near-historic win for the rival Labour Party.

A number of people on social media raised suspicions that Reform had tried to game the system and propped up fake candidates in many constituencies, of which Matlock, who